Learning | Appreciating | Reconnecting …. with Our World. We are part of it!

Tag: Nature deficit disorder

Global Voices for Justice interviews Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle, Last Child in the Woods, The Web of Life, and other books. Louv shares a hopeful message for every area of life from more productive workplaces, to better classroom learning and healing our nature-starved spirits.

Our society, says Louv, has developed such an outsized faith in technology that we have yet to fully realize or even adequately study how human capacities are enhanced through the power of nature. Supported by groundbreaking research, anecdotal evidence, and compelling personal stories, Louv shows us how tapping into the restorative powers of the natural world can boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds. As he says in his introduction, The Nature Principle is “about the power of living in nature—not with it, but in it. We are entering the most creative period in history. The twenty-first century will be the century of human restoration in the natural world.”

Richard Louv makes a convincing case that through a nature-balanced existence—driven by sound economic, social, and environmental solutions—the human race can and will thrive. This timely, inspiring, and important work will give readers renewed hope while challenging them to rethink the way we live.

Every program of early care and education has an outdoor environment and some outdoor activities – but often not enough.

The Outdoor Classroom Project, conducted by the Child Educational Center (CEC), was initially funded from 2003 to 2008 by First 5 LA, in Los Angeles County, to disseminate the philosophy and practice of outdoor programming and environments as critical elements of a quality program of early care and education.

Its primary focus is now in Santa Barbara County, supported through the Orfalea Fund. Grounded in a century of theory, practice and research, this project was developed in response to the dramatic deterioration of children’s outdoor activity in contemporary America.

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Three times more children and youth getting outdoors in nature from 2009 to 2011—some good from Children & Nature Network (C&NN) survey!

The 2011 Children & Nature Network (C&NN) survey of grassroots leaders of regional, statewide and provincial campaigns shows a three-fold increase in the number of children and youth getting outdoors in nature from 2009 to 2011—from one million to three million annually

The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) reported in USA Today, “A back-to-nature movement to reconnect children with the outdoors is burgeoning nationwide.” The latest survey with data from 2011 provides additional support for that statement.

Reasons for the growth and urgency of this movement include the epidemic of childhood obesity, reports of diminished creativity, increases in behavior disorders, increased time using electronic media, and sedentary behavior among children and youth—all of which are associated with reduced time for learning and play outdoors in nature as a part of children’s everyday lives. Research indicates that children tend to be healthier, happier and smarter when direct experiences in nature are a frequent and regular part of their childhood.

Compared to baseline results established in 2009, the Children & Nature Network 2011 Grassroots Leadership Survey shows significant increases in the numbers of children and youth getting outdoors in nature as a result of the efforts of the Network and its members, including regional, statewide and provincial campaigns to connect children, families and communities to nature. Commissioned by C&NN with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the survey results are analyzed and reported by an independent evaluator, Dr. Lynette Fleming.

Leaders of these campaigns reported that the number of children and youth annually engaged in nature-based outdoor activities and experiences has tripled since 2009 to an estimated 3 million youth in 2011. In 2011, C&NN campaigns and partners reported engaging up to 1.2 million underserved youth in community garden projects (up from 176,600 in 2009); 856,000 in natural play areas (up from 316,1000 in 2009); and 1.6 million in school gardens/habitat projects (up from 401,500 in 2009). Among the many findings, survey participants report increased:
• awareness of the importance of nature for children’s healthy development,
• participation by pediatricians and health care providers,
• educational benefits,
• community support, and
• development of places to play and learn outdoors in nature.

“While we still have much work to do to reverse the trends of the last 30 years in which children are increasingly sedentary and disconnected from playing and learning in nature, this progress is exciting and an indication of momentum,” said Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Children & Nature Network.

“These findings are encouraging, including the increase in the number of under served youth who are having nature-based play and learning experiences. However, barriers remain, and some are growing,” said Richard Louv, C&NN co-founder and Chairman Emeritus. “As of 2008, more people in the world live in cities than in rural areas. So we need a broader, deeper movement – one that transforms cities into incubators of biodiversity and human health. This movement isn’t about going back to nature; it’s about going forward to nature. Every child needs nature, not only those whose parents love the outdoors.”

Louv and Charles praised the young people, parents, grandparents, physicians, teachers, community leaders, urban planners and others leading the international movement to reduce what, in his book “Last Child in the Woods,” Louv called “our society’s nature-deficit disorder.”

Since its founding in 2006, The Children & Nature Network has been advocating for children, their families and communities to enhance their health and well-being through direct experiences in nature. C&NN’s vision is a world in which all children play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives. The Children & Nature Network is leading a movement to connect all children, their families and communities to nature through innovative ideas, evidence-based resources and tools, broad-based collaboration and support of grassroots leadership. C&NN provides a wide range of research and user- friendly tools, including those to enhance positive family bonding and access to fun, friendly nature-based activities.

The Trust is celebrating the centenary of the death of Octavia Hill, who set up the National Trust to try and help poor people in 19th Century.

Dame Fiona said the countryside is under threat from development, following a controversial change in planning laws, just as it was after the industrial revolution.

Last year the Trust led a high-profile campaign against proposals to change the planning system, which they said would have left large areas of countryside vulnerable to development.

Dame Fiona said green spaces need to be protected from development while new buildings should factor in access to parks and gardens.

The Trust is trying to improve access to the countryside by encouraging people to take up activities like walking or adventure sports on their own properties and by providing allotments.

There are also programmes to get schools and young people visiting farms and to teach children about the outdoors, including simple things like just skimming a stone or climbing a tree.

Dame Fiona pointed out that a quarter of children have never been to the countryside.

She added: “In theory it is possible to get outdoors but the truth is the actual experience people have of nature is still pretty limited. There is still an urgency to improve access to the countryside.”